Regula+e - General Pharmaceutical Council
Regula+e - General Pharmaceutical Council
Regula+e - General Pharmaceutical Council
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Fitness to practise – learning<br />
Fitness to<br />
practise –<br />
learning<br />
We receive concerns about<br />
pharmacy professionals from<br />
a wide variety of sources.<br />
Some of the concerns fall<br />
below our threshold criteria<br />
and so do not get referred on<br />
to our investigating<br />
committee or fitness to<br />
practise committee. Cases<br />
are only referred to these<br />
committees where there is<br />
reason to believe that the<br />
registrant’s fitness to<br />
practise may be impaired.<br />
We are keen to share<br />
learning from a variety of<br />
cases to improve practice<br />
and for registrants to better<br />
understand how we deal<br />
with these matters.<br />
Sometimes we have cases where the<br />
circumstances seem similar but the<br />
outcomes quite different. Here we look<br />
at two sets of examples. The first<br />
involves practising while not registered;<br />
and the second, making false claims for<br />
Medicine Use Review (MURs).<br />
First prosecution for<br />
practising while not<br />
registered<br />
The GPhC has successfully brought its<br />
first prosecution against a pharmacist<br />
for practising while suspended from<br />
the register.<br />
Mark Robert Taylor (registration number<br />
2039228) was convicted of an offence<br />
under S38(4) of the Pharmacy Order 2010<br />
at Tower Bridge Magistrates Court on 9<br />
January 2012 and fined £1,750 plus costs.<br />
Our fitness to practise committee had<br />
suspended Mr Taylor’s registration on 9<br />
June 2011 for six months, after a<br />
number of allegations were found<br />
proved during a hearing. These<br />
allegations included accessing the<br />
controlled drugs cabinet when not on<br />
duty and without authorisation, and<br />
demonstrating unprofessional and<br />
threatening behaviour to a colleague.<br />
A GPhC Inspector conducting a routine<br />
inspection of a pharmacy on 14 July<br />
2011 found that Mr Taylor had<br />
unlawfully been working there during his<br />
period of suspension.<br />
Chief Executive and Registrar, Duncan<br />
Rudkin, said:<br />
“This conviction sends a clear message<br />
that there are serious consequences if<br />
someone tries to work as a pharmacist<br />
when they are not registered to practise.<br />
“Patients and the public can have<br />
confidence that we will take decisive<br />
action to prevent anyone from practising<br />
as a pharmacist if they do not meet the<br />
high standards of conduct, ethics and<br />
performance necessary to hold<br />
registration.”<br />
Practising while not<br />
registered<br />
The fitness to practise committee heard<br />
that a pharmacist who had been<br />
removed from the register for failing to<br />
renew his registration had worked as a<br />
locum on 43 occasions between 8 April<br />
and 18 June 2009.<br />
He had not told his employers that he<br />
had been removed from the Register. As<br />
far as he was aware, the companies he<br />
worked for believed he was a registered<br />
pharmacist.<br />
The committee heard that at the time of<br />
the offences, he had felt overwhelmed<br />
by debt. His motivation had been to try<br />
and get his financial affairs into a<br />
manageable state.<br />
He accepted that his behaviour had<br />
been both inappropriate and dishonest.<br />
The committee took into account that<br />
while the misconduct had occurred over<br />
a two-month period, it had to be seen in<br />
the context of an otherwise<br />
unblemished record. He had cooperated<br />
fully with the GPhC’s investigation and<br />
had made open and frank admissions.<br />
He had apologised for his misconduct<br />
and shown genuine remorse.<br />
A two-month suspension was imposed,<br />
which the committee said adequately<br />
reflected the aggravating and mitigating<br />
features of the case.<br />
Learning points<br />
• You cannot call yourself a<br />
pharmacist, practise as a<br />
pharmacist or hold yourself out to<br />
be a pharmacist unless you are<br />
registered with the GPhC<br />
• It is your responsibility to renew<br />
your registration annually before<br />
the deadline<br />
• The owner or superintendent<br />
pharmacist must carry out<br />
relevant checks on all staff that<br />
they employ. The registration<br />
status of a pharmacist or<br />
pharmacy technician can be<br />
checked on our live register on<br />
our website. Go to<br />
http://www.pharmacyregulation.<br />
org/registration<br />
• Our register also shows details of<br />
any fitness to practise decisions<br />
relating to a registrant.<br />
18 <strong>Regula+e</strong>: March 2012 | Issue 4